How Will Pregnancy Affect A Woman With Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Dr. Garth Swanson explains how pregnancy will affect a woman with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Dr. Swanson:
Women with inflammatory bowel disease, either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, may find their pregnancy significantly improves or significantly worsens their disease. About a third of women get better when pregnant with inflammatory bowel disease, a third of the women have no change in their disease symptoms, and a third of the women actually improve when they get pregnant.

It’s important that if you’re planning on getting pregnant and have inflammatory bowel disease that you see your gastroenterologist regularly so they can get your disease under very good control which will help the course of your pregnancy, and if your disease does worsen when you’re pregnant, can be addressed quickly and correctly.

About Dr. Swanson, M.D., M.S.:
Dr. Garth Swanson, M.D., M.S., is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Digestive Diseases at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. His practice focuses on the diagnosis, management, and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Swanson has a master's degree in clinical research and his research interests include how environmental factors, such as alcohol and sleep, can affect gut inflammation and colonic bacteria.

Dr. Swanson received his medical degree from Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his residency and his fellowship at Rush University Medical Center. His special interests include inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and microscopic colitis.

Visit Dr. Swanson at Rush University Medical Center